An Unusual Approach To Owl's Head, 6/23/2012

June 23, 2012: Owl’s Head

Trails: Wilderness Trail, Franconia Brook Trail, Lincoln Brook Trail, Owl’s Head Herd Path

Summits: Owl’s Head

Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me



This hike to Owl’s Head finishes off the month of June for our Grid hiking. Both of us were thinking along the same lines in deciding the route. Sue and I have hiked Owl’s Head using various approaches but one approach we have never tried is a round trip via the trails and the Owl’s Head Herd Path. Every previous hike, and there have been quite a few, has included at least one bushwhack, usually two or three. With the water down in Franconia Brook and Lincoln Brook the big crossings are not a concern. Right now the water is down.

We arrived to Lincoln Woods early and found the lot already loaded with vehicles. A large group was consolidating gear and spotting vehicles; I assume they were setting up for a Bonds Traverse. Other hikers set off ahead of us. We wasted little time in our final prep. Soon we were crossing the Lincoln Woods suspension bridge and starting our warm-up on Wilderness Trail.

Our first target was the Wilderness Trail – Franconia Brook Trail junction, 2.9 miles away. It’s an easy, flat, generally boring 2.9 miles of old railroad grade with only 300 feet of elevation gain along the way, but it’s a good warm-up for the day. We hiked a leisurely pace non-stop to the junction, made the turn, and started heading to the junction with Lincoln Brook Trail. Franconia Brook Trail is mostly dry but there are a couple real muddy places that can get messy if you miss one of the high spots. We were able to handle the mud pits and crossings along the way with no mishaps. Other than these hazards and one blowdown, the trail is in great condition. We arrived at Lincoln Brook Trail, made the turn, and headed to the “big” crossings.

The first crossing of Franconia Brook was the largest of them all. We reached Franconia Brook, didn’t like the looks of the crossing right at the trail and wandered a short distance upstream for a better string of rocks for a rock-hop crossing. Both of us managed to reach the far side with dry boots. We got back on-trail and headed for the crossing of Lincoln Brook, which was the smaller of the two “big” crossings. After clearing Lincoln Brook we were heading to the base of the Owl’s Head slide and herd path to the summit.

Along the way we reached the usual ending location for the Black Pond Bushwhack. This alternative route saves roughly one mile in distance over the trail approach but I have never really known if it also saves time. My guess was it saved distance but saved no time. The real benefit to the Black Pond Bushwhack was it bypasses the “big” crossings of Franconia Brook and Lincoln Brook, which can be dangerous in high water conditions. After the hike I reviewed our hikes to Owl’s Head over the past few years. Every one used the Black Pond approach. I looked at them all, summer (bare boots) and winter (snowshoes), and found our average time from the trailhead to the end of the Black Pond bushwhack on Lincoln Brook Trail was 2 hours and 45 minutes. Also, the snowshoe times were generally consistent with the bare boot times. On this hike we proceeded at a leisurely pace and reached the same place in 2 hours and 30 minutes. Based on this it’s probably good to stay with the trails if the water is down.

Continuing to the base of the Owl’s Head Slide we made our way along Lincoln Brook Trail with no problems along the way. There were the usual mud pits but some were fairly dry and firm; easier than usual to stay clean. We cleared the crossing of Liberty Brook and the final crossing of Lincoln Brook and were soon at the bottom of the Owl’s Head Slide. There we met a fellow from the Boston area that was finishing his first trip through the list; Owl’s Head was his #48 of 48. I told him Sue and I were also hiking #48 of 48. Congratulations all around and after a brief visit we were back to our hikes.

The climb up the slide was the usual; a bunch of loose stuff down low and just enough loose stuff in the middle and upper sections to keep your attention. We made our way to the top of the slide with the usual stops to relax a little and enjoy the views. Soon, we were making our way through the steep climb above the slide to the ridge.

Along the way, high on the herd path, there is a large tree to step over. Just beyond the tree, on the right side and hidden from view is the stub of a root sticking out at shin level. I’ve hit this root on previous hikes and it usually only caused a little discomfort. This time I managed to open a couple places on my shin and the blood was flowing. Because of blood thinners, a small injury for me can be pretty messy. Sue dug into her first aid kit and pulled out some wipes (regular and iodine), and I went for the trusty styptic pencil hiding somewhere in my pack. Eventually we had the mess under control and were again climbing.

We hit the ridge and headed north to the summits (old and new). After clearing the “old” summit there is an interesting maze of herd paths that lead to the new summit. All appear to be well tracked out and there is no good way to decide which one is the best one. With the great conditions we were enjoying all we needed to do was try to keep the sun on our backs. Eventually we arrived to the summit cairn. The rock pile was quite a bit larger than on our last visit, which was only eight weeks ago. We got the usual summit pictures, had summit cookies (thanks Sue), made the u-turn and headed out. Our exit hike was straight out the way we hiked in; there will be no Brutus Bushwhack this time either.

On the way back to the top of the steep descent we met a large number of hikers headed to the summit; multiple groups and individuals totaling ~15 – 20 hikers. The place got real busy. We carefully made our way down to the top of the slide and then descended the slide with all of its loose stuff making things interesting. We had a couple small slips but nothing left a mark so it was all good. Back on Lincoln Brook Trail we turned and headed out. At various times we were hearing thunder that seemed to be located on the west of Franconia Ridge, perhaps the area of Kinsman Ridge, but nothing ever got close to our location.

There were no surprises along the way and we managed to reach the trailhead generally on plan for the day. One additional detail, the biting insects were out in force. Both Sue and I loaded up with Deet (Sue more than once). Late in the hike Sue commented she was starting to enjoy the smell of Deet. Yeah, it will do that to you. Try it on French Fries sometime, it’s really good!

After a quick change into dry things we were on the highway south. When we hit I-93 the storm hit us. Our timing for the day worked out great.

Thanks Sue, that’s another Grid Month done and in the books.


Pictures will follow.

I’ve posted some pictures from the day.


BIGEarl's Pictures


Straight to the slideshow

Congrats for this looooong hike
I'm postponing Owl's Head again and again but with the water down, I think I will give it a shot.

Julie

I am no runner, but the only time I have done Owls head under 8 hours was by the trails. Now we need you to try Owls head from the East in the winter via the valley just north of Hellgate, that way you get to visit all three summits.

Just the opposite for me BE, the only one of my dozen trips to Owls Head using trails both ways was in my case my first, deliberately done in August when the crossings were low. Of course that used the old trail before the beaver flooding, which was a mile shorter than the present trail and stayed on railroad grades a lot more of the way.

After the new trail was built I hiked it one direction to check it out but did not think highly of it, my next trip to Owls Head whenever that is I still have 2 bushwhack routes to try.

peakbagger said:

I am no runner, but the only time I have done Owls head under 8 hours was by the trails. Now we need you to try Owls head from the East in the winter via the valley just north of Hellgate, that way you get to visit all three summits.

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The day I was there a woman did that route on skis probably in 6 hours

MorningSun said:

Congrats for this looooong hike
I'm postponing Owl's Head again and again but with the water down, I think I will give it a shot.

Julie

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Sue and I both knew the water was down but still had sandals and a towel in our packs. If you are not completely comfortable with a rock-hop across Franconia Brook the water isn’t deep. Wading should feel pretty good. It’s a very mellow stream right now.

Enjoy the hike. It’s one of my favorites.

peakbagger said:

I am no runner, but the only time I have done Owls head under 8 hours was by the trails. Now we need you to try Owls head from the East in the winter via the valley just north of Hellgate, that way you get to visit all three summits.

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Owl’s Head is such a special mountain with three summits; two that count and a spare.

I recall you describing that route once before. There should be plenty of opportunity this winter. Are you interested in leading the parade?

RoySwkr said:

Just the opposite for me BE, the only one of my dozen trips to Owls Head using trails both ways was in my case my first, deliberately done in August when the crossings were low. Of course that used the old trail before the beaver flooding, which was a mile shorter than the present trail and stayed on railroad grades a lot more of the way.

After the new trail was built I hiked it one direction to check it out but did not think highly of it, my next trip to Owls Head whenever that is I still have 2 bushwhack routes to try.


The day I was there a woman did that route on skis probably in 6 hours

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Hey Roy,

Another check I did on the hike was comparing the total time of it to the average total time of previous hikes. Removing the hikes to Owl’s Head that approached from Franconia Ridge leaves 16 previous hikes via Black Pond. The total time, trailhead to trailhead, was the same for this hike and the average of past hikes.

I realize the trails route is roughly a mile longer (each way). Traveling by trail is evidently enough faster than the one mile bushwhack from Black Pond to offset the added distance (at least for me). Except for the two mud pits the trails are in terrific shape right now. The big crossings didn’t really cost us anything, and neither did the pits.

Another point to consider; this hike ascended and descended the Owl’s Head Slide. Most previous hikes descended via the so-called Brutus Bushwhack. I think this would suggest the Brutus Bushwhack might not provide much in the way of time savings either. But, it is probably more intended to provide an alternate route to bypass the slide than save distance and time. I’ve been told it saves roughly a half mile in distance but haven’t taken the time to lay it out and check it out. I have a feeling the difference might be much smaller.

To all of this, of course there’s the usual disclaimer: YMMV

BIGEarl said:

I realize the trails route is roughly a mile longer (each way). Traveling by trail is evidently enough faster than the one mile bushwhack from Black Pond to offset the added distance (at least for me)

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When I used to do orienteering the rule of thumb was that you could go 4x faster on a trail than cross-country, this was at a jog/run and the time savings are presumably less if you are walking. Of course orienteers are skilled in woods travel - someone who is deathly afraid that off-trail you will get lost, be eaten by crocodiles, or break their legs may take so long as to render any bushwhack unreasonable.

I used to do a lot of winter hiking with a guy whose goal was not just to reach the summit himself but to get any interested 10-year-old or 70-year-old up the winter 4k. Thus his basic consideration was not what was fastest for the strong hikers but the weak ones. His experience was that once half a dozen people on snowshoes had been by, there wasn't that much difference between a bushwhack and the typical overgrown trail. Hence he would let the stronger hikers wear themselves out creating a good route for the slower ones, which often meant a bushwhack that was shorter or avoided known trouble spots.

BIGEarl said:

I think this would suggest the Brutus Bushwhack might not provide much in the way of time savings either... I’ve been told it saves roughly a half mile in distance but haven’t taken the time to lay it out and check it out. I have a feeling the difference might be much smaller.

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I also doubt that it saves that much distance, the slide is a pretty straight route.

The route that does save distance is to come up the E side, that's maybe a mile shorter than Black Pond and a couple miles shorter than the trail. Fastest in winter if you ski the old RR grade across the beaver ponds and slide all the way from the summit back to the trail.

RoySwkr said:

……………

The route that does save distance is to come up the E side, that's maybe a mile shorter than Black Pond and a couple miles shorter than the trail. Fastest in winter if you ski the old RR grade across the beaver ponds and slide all the way from the summit back to the trail.

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I believe this is the same route Peakbagger has mentioned as well. I’ve been looking at topographic maps to understand the approach. The map suggests this is a slightly milder approach but it’s still pretty steep from 2400 to 3600 feet. The final 400 feet look pretty mellow. How open in the route? Is the growth on the east side of Owl's Head less dense than on the west? It definitely has my interest.

Both of you seem to indicate it’s a good “winter” route. Is there a reason why it would not be a good approach in summer or fall when things cool down a bit?

The route I did was climbing up the side of the valley that is just south of where Hellgate brook crosses the the Franconia Brook Trail. It was near the last weekend of winter on a low snow year (typical of recent winters). If you look at the USGS 7.5 minute quad there is a fairly broad shoulder to the north of valley that is a steady grade up (as long as you dont get too close to the stream. This valley was mature hardwoods and softwoods with a good sight line. More importantly being the fair weather hiker than I am, the woods are open enough that the majority of the hike is in the sun and there are some views east towards Bondcliff. I cant comment on what sort of undergrowth is present, so not sure how good it is for summer. The Franiconia Brook Crossing is a challenge, we found a tree down but with an early melt it could be a problem.

One thing we did do wrong on the way up to the summit is we headed for the ridgeline as soon as possible. This was not a good idea as the ridge was a mix of blowdown with small firs growing up quite densely. We eventually made it to what I call the "really old" summit. It had a fairly large clearing with a old fir tree near a high spot. There were some bolts hanging out of the tree but it was in rough shape. I took pictures from this location to the Lafayette ridge. As this wasnt the summit I was familiar with, we headed north on the ridge along a herd path, until we reached the "old "summit" in the woods that most folks recognize. The "new summit" on the north end of the ridge wasnt recognized yet so we turned around and went back to the "real old" summit and then dropped off the ridge to get out of the small spruce into more mature softwoods and then slabbed along the ridge until we hit the trail we used to ascend. I think we skirted the steep part of the valley to the east of by staying between 3600 and 3800 feet.

If I were to do it again I would be tempted to do a similiar approach via the ridge on the north side of the next valley north from Hellgate. It looks like similiar contour. If the woods are resonable, it would save some time traversing the ridge. The trade off is with low winter sun angles, the sun may not penetrate the woods as well. The overall caveat is Franconia Brook, if conditions are wrong and the flow is up, it could take quite awhile to find a way across and could be dangerous as it is quite wide on the east sid of the mountain.

If some one is interested in summer or fall bushwhack, I might be up for it. Its a long day but I really like the woods up there. Alternatively take the normal route up and then bushwhack down.

By the way this hike was pre GPS. With a prearranged GPS track I expect if the woods were reasonable this would be an easier hike.

By the way after the original post I fired up Google Earth and looked at the woods on the East side using the 3d view. It looks like the mixed woods extend up to the ridge line from the proposed route although there is a band of softwoods at one point. This ridge does look like it drops off to either side steeper than the more southerly ridge.

Thank you very much Earl for the advice

Julie

peakbagger said:

........

If some one is interested in summer or fall bushwhack, I might be up for it. Its a long day but I really like the woods up there. Alternatively take the normal route up and then bushwhack down.

By the way this hike was pre GPS. With a prearranged GPS track I expect if the woods were reasonable this would be an easier hike.

By the way after the original post I fired up Google Earth and looked at the woods on the East side using the 3d view. It looks like the mixed woods extend up to the ridge line from the proposed route although there is a band of softwoods at one point. This ridge does look like it drops off to either side steeper than the more southerly ridge.

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I'm pretty sure we'll be discussing this more in the September - October time frame (after the leaves and before the snow). By then we should be in the mood for more bushwhacks. New territory is always fun.

I have the feeling this one is a really good time.

BIGEarl said:

How open in the route? Is the growth on the east side of Owl's Head less dense than on the west?

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Probably similar, just stay on the ridge and out of the gully

BIGEarl said:

Both of you seem to indicate it’s a good “winter” route. Is there a reason why it would not be a good approach in summer or fall when things cool down a bit?

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The route can be done in summer but is better in winter:

* You can use the original Franconia Brook Trail on the railroad grade across the frozen beaver ponds instead of the twisty bypass, and the area isn't full of hungry mosquitoes
* The railroad grades if skied can be faster than walking or even running
* On the bushwhack, with a couple feet of snow most of the rocks and deadfalls are covered leaving a good surface
* You can slide nearly the whole length of the bushwhack in good snow conditions leading to faster easier travel